Hookedonwords

Hi,

This is Max. I’m writing this post since Vanilla is away and, between classes and other obligations is unable to post the way she would like. So being the great husband that I am, OK good husband … OK because I know how to type, I’m going to write this one. So here goes.

A couple of weeks ago we were in our local Barnes and Noble book store. While walking through the store I noticed a medium sized display featuring the Onyx Scrabble® set. I’ve heard of this set before, but when I picked up the box for a closer inspection I noticed there was a web address on it that read scrabble.ea.com. I know that ea.com is Electronic Arts the highly successful Computer/Console game development company. So I wondered, were they making a new version of Scrabble®? When we got home I went to the site and the answer is Yes! Scrabble.ea.com features 2 new versions of Scrabble®. One for your mobile phone and the other for your iPod. That’s right your iPod! I was surprised at that one as well.

Let’s talk about  some of the features of the Mobile Scrabble® version first. It has the ability to see the entire Scrabble® board. You can also play different levels of difficulty and you have the option to play with a friend. The price is a meager $2.49, which appears to be a one time charge. (Check with scrabble.ea.com the be sure of the charges).

The iPod version looks very sharp. Like the Mobile version you can play alone or challenge a friend. You use the iPod Click wheel to pick tiles and navigate the board. This version can be purchased from iTunes  and is also inexpensive at $4.99. Once you get to the iTunes Store check the System Requirements to make sure it will work with your iPod model.  Not sure which Ipod you have, try this link? Don’t have an Ipod, you can get an iPod (also known as iPod with video or Fifth Generation iPod) which is compatible with Scrabble® for the iPod, from Amazon.com.

At the iTunes site there is a button to preview the game and there are also some screen shots of it on the iPod. For the Mobile version scrabble.ea.com shows more screen shots and has a video and a demo mode that lets you play on a mock cell phone. Great job EA!

OK this was my first post. Hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment and tell us what you think. Make a suggestion or send us some Scrabble® news you think we should write about or a product to review.

Max

Photo Entitled: Battlestations! By: CarbonNYC

Hi Scrabblers,

Please bear with me; I’ve caught the vacation bug. Sorry for the late post.  I need to get away from my regular routine. 

Does that mean I won’t be playing Scrabble®?  Probably not.  All I need to do is bring my  travel Scrabble® along for the trip.  I have two versions of the travel game.  One of them is called the Scrabble® Game Folio.  It looks very sleek nestled in its zippered black nylon pouch.  The board actually locks inside the case as you play.  That’s pretty cool.  Yet, I could do without those pesky  ivory colored square peg-like plastic tiles with notches that are supposed to lock into the grooved miniature squares on the board.  They don’t exactly lock that well.  They become a distraction as you try to make your word and the tile becomes a “projectile“, flying violently across the room.  Of course, it’s better than not having the game at all. 

A better choice of a travel edition would be the Scrabble® Deluxe Travel Edition version in the plastic maroon case.  That case also folds out into a regular playing board.  It’s just like the regular game with smaller wooden tiles that fit into grooved squares.  I’ve had this game for over 15 years now.  So, maybe it’s changed some by now.  In fact, if  any of you has purchased it lately, please let me know about any changes.  My best memory of playing with this version involved  New York City at Orchard Beach with good friends. 

Whatever vacation plans you all have please be careful and play lots of Scrabble®.  By the way, I still plan on playing Scrabulous with other players online within the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime, if any of you have tried it already, please post a comment about your experience. 

My next post will be “About the Scrabble® Rules“.  See ya next week.

 Photo By: muha… Entitled: weekend inspiration

Since the seemingly ancient early 90’s when I first played Scrabble® on the computer things have changed greatly.  Before I thought it was cool to run a wire between my apartment and my friend’s apartment two doors down.  Of course, our husbands made the actual physical connection.  After the connection was made we could play scrabble while chatting to each other, or typing our comments in the space provided in real time. 

Later, I started to experiment with playing online with more players.  Using the now old blue Scrabble® CD-ROM by Hasbro, I was able to connect to zone.com to meet other players.  First, you must register with your user name by following the steps for online play.  Although it was pretty straight forward, there was a lobby where you could see other players as well as available “tables” to join.  You can host a game yourself and invite others to join your game.  Or, you can join another game that’s available.  After a while, depending on your preference, you could invite others for a quick game.  Or, you could just say it’s a casual game.  I played  a wide array of players with various skill levels from all over the world this way.

Now, I’m back to playing the latest version of Scrabble® by Encore (Champion Edition) that incorporates the latest version of the Scrabble dictionary.  It’s frustrating when some of the older Scrabble cd’s do not have the latest dictionary with the new 2-letter words.  I’m enjoying playing on the master level now.  Although I beat the computer occasionally, I’m on the losing end of the game at this level most of the time.  Yet, remember my older post about copying the computer’s moves.  That’s what I try to do; it’s always a challenge.  Sometimes I even win!

I also signed up for Scrabulous.  Scrabulous is extremely popular.  How do you play this version of Scrabble?  It’s very east to get started.  All you need is your e-mail address and a password to get started.  Then, an e-mail will be sent to you with a link that you click that will take you to the page where you can sign in and start playing.  I enjoyed the time I spent there.  Unlike cd’s, to connect to Scrabulous all I did was Google the name, which brought up the link to click for its website.  No CD-ROM is necessary.  Next time I will play head-to-head against other players.  I’ll keep you posted.  Don’t forget to tell me about your experiences playing online or on the computer by posting a comment on this site.

Next Week: Playing Scrabulous against others.